Introduction

Legal translation is a translation from one legal system into another from the source legal system into the target legal system1. It involves all the legal texts that are used in various legal settings be it a court, a national or international organization, a law book, a legal report, a birth certificate, a contract, etc.2 Legal translation is a special and specialized area of translational activity because it involves law, and such translation produces many times not just linguistic but also legal impact and consequence, and also because the nature of law and legal language is special. The translation of legal texts of any kind, is a practice that stands at the crossroads of legal theory, language theory and translation theory3. The legal translator must have a basic understanding of the nature of law and legal language and the impact it has on legal translation4. Legal translation is a type of the translational activity involving special language use, that is, language for special purpose (LSP) in the context of law, or language for legal purpose (LLP). Legal translation has the characteristics of technical translation and also shares some of the features of general translation.5 Legal language is not uniform, not just one legal discourse, but a set of related legal discourses.6 There are four major variants or sub-varieties of legal texts in the written form, each one having its own peculiarities: (1) legislative texts, e.g. domestic statutes and subordinate laws, international treaties and multilingual laws, and other laws produced by lawmaking authorities; (2) judicial texts produced in the judicial process by judicial officers and other legal authorities; (3) legal scholarly texts produced by academic lawyers or legal scholars in scholarly works and commentaries whose legal status depends on the legal systems in different jurisdictions; and (4) private legal texts that include texts written by lawyers, e.g.
1 2 3 4

Sarcevic, Susan (1997). New Approach to Legal Translation. London/ Boston: Kluwer Law International., pp.13 Hanem E. El-Farahaty , Legal Translation: Theory and Practice, pp.7 Joseph, John E. 1995. Indeterminacy, Translation and the Law. In: Marshal Morris, pp. 14 Deborah Cao, 2007, Translating Law, TOPICS IN TRANSLATION 33, Series Editors: Susan Bassnett,

University of Warwick and Edwin Gentzler, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, pp.7

5 6

ibid, pp.8 Maley, Yon, 1994, The Language of the Law, in John Gibbons (ed.), Language and the Law, New York,

Longman, 1150, pp.13

contracts, leases, wills and litigation documents, and also texts written by non-lawyers, e.g. private agreements, witness statements and other documents produced by non-lawyers and used in litigation and other legal situations7. This paper discusses legal translation in theory and practice with examples from English common law legal scholarly texts. These examples were taken from a collection of authentic legal texts, obtained from professional lawyers in United States of America from legal books. This paper also demonstrates the techniques that the legal translator can use to overcome such difficulties. Such translations are different from the category where the translated law is legally binding. In this category of translations, the SL is the only legally enforceable language while the TL is not. For instance, the cases written in English and discussed in this paper and translated into Romanian for informative purpose for the benefit of foreign lawyers or other Romanian readers is not legally enforceable. This is different from the category where, for instance, a statute written in Romanian language is translated into English or vice versa and where both the Romanian and English versions are equally authentic. Sometimes, publishers of translations of laws in the category of non legally binding translations include a disclaimer to the effect that the translation of such and such a law is for reference only, and that in legal proceedings, the original language text of the law shall prevail. Expressing the interaction in law and other spheres between different peoples and cultures, having an important role in the intellectual and institutional development in different countries and a pragmatic value in economic areas, legal translation deserves close investigation. This study attempts to make modest contributions in this regard. It has the major objective of studying legal translation as an intellectual pursuit and as a profession in our increasingly interconnected world. Being a culture-dependent subject field, only professional translators specialising in legal translation should translate legal documents and scholarly writings. Legal translation is not a simple task. It requires a lot of expertise and familiarity with linguistic conventions that apply to laws and legal cases.

Christopher Goddard, 2009, Where legal cultures meet, INSTITUTE OF LINGUISTICS, POLAND, pg.18

When translating a text within the field of law, the translator should always remember that the legal system of the source text (ST) is structured in a way that suits that culture and this is reflected in the legal language; similarly, the target text (TT) is to be read by someone who is familiar with the other legal system (corresponding to the jurisdiction for which TT is prepared) and its language. Taking into consideration that not every country has the same legal system, in some cases legal concepts do not have an equivalent in the target language. Codes and laws have been created in order to correspond to a particular country or culture and when the legal term does not have an equivalent in the target language, the translator needs to recreate the concept and the whole idea attached to the legal expression. For this reason, the translator has to be guided by certain standards of linguistic, social and cultural equivalence between the language used in the source text (ST) to produce a text (TT) in the target language. Those standards correspond to a variety of different principles defined as different approaches to translation in Translation theory. It is very important to deliver faultless a legal translation. Many lawyers and judges often ask court interpreters and translators to provide verbatim8 translation as they are not familiar with the terminology used in Translation theory. They often view this term as a clear standard of quality that they desire in TT having the misconception that an accurate translation is achieved simply when "the correct" words of the target language are substituted for the corresponding words of ST. The truth is that word-by-word translations could sound as complete nonsense in the target language9. To deliver correct translations, legal translators need to understand the different law systems as well as specific areas within law such as Criminal Law, Commercial Law, Property Law etc. They also need to be competent in legal writing, to have an in-depth knowledge of legal terminology and to have a deep understanding of comparative law system which helps to comprehend basic legal terms and structures in an international context. Choosing a specialist in the legal translation field will certify that the legal documents are able to be understood and the meaning of the original document will not be modified in any way as a result of such translation.
8 9

Word by word translation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_translation

1. Historical Review of Legal Translation

The translation of legal texts is a practice which began a long time ago with the translations of the peace treaty between Egypt and the Hittite Empire in 1271 BC as well as the translation of the Corpus Iuris Civilis and other legal texts from past centuries. As these way of thinking hasnt been passed on in history, systematic study has only recently begun in the field of legal translation. Many significant problems have already been identified and the research has certainly shown its practical applications with the help of comparative law, legal linguistics and legal data processing.10 Legal translation has primarily been researched through the perspective of terminology and the question how terms from a legal system can be expressed in the equivalent terms of another legal system.

2. The System Differences between The American Common Law Legal System and The Romanian Civil Law Legal System Legal translation from one legal system into another is not a mere conversion of lexis and grammar. David and Brierley11 classify the world legal systems into Romano-Germanic Law (Continental Civil Law), the Common Law, Socialist Law, Hindu Law, Islamic Law, African Law, and Far East Law. Romano-Germanic Law, widely known as the Civil Law. The latter derives from the Roman Law and the Canon Code. This legal system is widely followed by many countries of the world, mainly, France, Germany, Austria, South Africa, Romania etc. The primary feature of civil law is that laws are written into a collection, codified, and not as in common law determined by judges. All the most civilized nations in the world are governed by either of these two great schemes of justice. Civil law and common law system have many differences in judicial system including: (1) the historical development of a legal system; (2) the distinctive mode of legal thinking; (3) the distinctive legal institutions; (4) the

10

Dr. phil. Dr. iur. Galdia Marcus, 2003, Comparative law and legal translation, PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL

LAW AND EUROPEAN HARMONISATION OF PRIVATE LAW, The European Legal Forum, E, IPR Verlag GmbH Mnchen, pp.1
11

David, Ren and Brierley, John (1985). Major Legal System in the World Today.London: Stevens.pp20-31

sources of law and their treatment; and (5) the ideology to compare the Common Law and the Civil Law. The Common Law is the legal tradition that evolved in England from the 11th century and is mostly founded on a system of case law or judicial precedent. In contrast, the Civil Law is originated in ancient Roman law as codified in the Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian (AD 528 534). It was later developed through the Middle Ages by medieval legal scholars. It is the oldest legal tradition in the Western world. In terms of legal thinking, the Civil Law family is characterized by a tendency to use abstract legal norms. The Civil Law jurists focus on legal principles while the Common Law jurists focus on fact patterns. Case law in the Common Law provides the principal source of law, considering that in the Civil Law system, case law is only a secondary source of law 12 . In the Civil Law world, the general legal principles are embodied in codes and statutes, and legal doctrine provides guidance in their interpretation, leaving to judges the task of applying the law13. In spite of the differences that exist between the Common Law and the Civil Law families, they are not discrepant. Both belong to the Western legal traditions and political cultures, and the translations between the two has become more possible especially as a result of the mutual influence between the two families14. Notwithstanding, the differences between the systems of the two legal families are a major source of difficulty in legal translation15. 3. Cultural differences, a source of difficulty in legal translations Another source of difficulty in legal translation is represented by the cultural differences. Language and culture or social contexts are closely integrated and interdependent.16 A legal
12

Tetley, William, 2000, Mixed Jurisdictions: Common Law vs Civil Law (Codified and Uncodified),

Louisiana, Law Review, pp.702

13 14

ibid Merryman, John Henry, Clark, Avid S. and Haley, John O., 1994, The Civil Law Tradition: Europe, Latin

America, and East Asia, Charlottesville, VA, The Michie Company

15

Vranken, Martin, 1997, Fundamentals of European Civil Law, Sydney, The Federation

Press
16

Deborah Cao, 2007, Translating Law, TOPICS IN TRANSLATION 33, Series Editors: Susan Bassnett,

University of Warwick and Edwin Gentzler, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, pp31

culture is illustrated by those historically conditioned attitudes about the nature of law and about the proper structure and operation of a legal system that are at large in the society 17. Law is an expression of the culture, and it is expressed through legal language. Legal language, like other language use, is a social practice18. Each country has its own legal language representing the social reality of its specific legal order 19. Legal translators must surmount cultural encumbrances between the SL and TL societies when reproducing a TL version of a law originally written for the SL reader. In this regard, Weston writes20 that the most important general characteristic of any legal translation is that an unusually large proportion of the text is culture-specific. The existence of different legal cultures and traditions is a major reason because of which legal languages are different from one another, and will remain so. Furthermore, it is a reason for which legal language within each national legal order is not and will not be the same as ordinary language.

4. The Language of the Legal Text

The difficulty of legal translation is the specific nature of legal discourse owed to the lack of clear techniques, the uniqueness of legal discourses lexical items; and the ambiguity and complexity of sentences. Garre (1999) claims that more than one translation theory can be applied in the field of legal translation.21 The languages of the Common Law and Civil Law systems are fundamentally different in style. Legal traditions and legal culture has had an enduring impact on the way law is written. Written legal language reflects for this reason the essential elements of a legal culture and confronts the legal translator with its multiple implications22. There are major differences in

17

Merryman, John Henry, Clark, Avid S. and Haley, John O., 1994, The Civil Law Tradition: Europe, Latin

America, and East Asia, Charlottesville, VA, The Michie Company, pp. 51
18

Goodrich, Peter, 1987, Legal Discourse: Studies in Linguistics, Rhetoric and Legal Analysis, London, Sarcevic, Susan, 1985, Translation of Culture-bound Terms in Laws, Multilingua, pp. 127 Weston, Martin, 1983, Problems and Principles in Legal Translation, The Incorporate Linguist, pp. 207 Hanem E. El-Farahaty, 2008, volume 1, Legal Translation, Theory and Practice, Journal of Saudi Association

Macmillan, pp 2
19 20 21

of Languages and Translations, pp.7

22

Smith, 1995, pp.190191

the order of priority in Civil Law and Common Law regarding case law and legal doctrine. The functions of case law have had an apparent influence on the writing style and language of court decisions. Common Law judicial opinions are usually long and contain elaborate reasoning, while the legal opinions in Civil Law countries are usually short and more formal in nature and style. In Romania, judges normally cite only legislation, not prior case law. Such judgments are normally separated into two parts the motifs (reasons) and the dispositive (order). The method of writing judgments is also different. Common Law judgments extensively expose the facts, compare or distinguish them from the facts of previous cases, and decide the specific legal rule relevant to the facts. In contrast, Civil Law decisions first identify the legal principles that may be relevant, then verify if the facts support their application23. In terms of the style of legislative drafting, Civil Law codes and statutes are concise, whereas Common Law statutes are precise24. Civil Law statutes generally provide no definitions, and state principles in broad, general phrases. Common Law statutes on the other hand provide detailed definitions, and each specific rule sets out lengthy enumerations of specific applications or exceptions, introduced by a catch-all phrase and followed by qualifications25.

5. Problems of Legal Translations with practical examples and a short presentation of the American Case Law Pursuant to Harveys argument26 that legal translation combines the inventiveness of literary translation with the terminological precision of technical translation, the translators mission is unusually demanding. The difficulties that the legal translator faces involve lexical incongruities, syntactic complexities, textual dissimilarities, and system and cultural differences. The following discussion provides details about these problems and offers practical strategies of how the legal translator may handle them.

23 24 25 26

Tetley, William, 2000, Mixed Jurisdictions: Common Law vs Civil Law, Louisana Law Review, pp.702 ibid, pp. 703 Deborah Cao, 2007, Translating Law, pp.20 Harvey, Malcolm (2002). Whats so Special about Legal Translation?, Meta, vol.47 (2): pp. 17.

The differences in the Common Law and Civil Law systems and the consequent dissimilarities in the language used in law in the two systems as described above have an impact on legal translation. The variety of linguistic differences is one of most challenging aspects that the legal translator faces with. In the United States, the law derives from four sources. These four sources are The Fed and States Constitution, statutes (enacted by legislatures), administrative regulations (enacted by agencies), and the common law ( judge-made law, based on particular cases). In law, case law is the set of reported judicial decisions of selected appellate courts and other courts of first instance which make new interpretations of the law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents in a process known as stare decisis. These interpretations are distinguished from statutory law which are the statutes and codes enacted by legislative bodies; regulatory law which are regulations established by governmental agencies based on statutes; and in some states, common law which are the generally accepted laws carried to the colonies and former colonies of England (USA, Australia, etc). Trials and hearings which are not selected as 'courts of first impression' do not have rulings that become case law; therefore, these rulings cannot be precedents for future court decisions27.

5.1 The summary and the legal translation of the case judged by the Supreme Court of Illinois, Shante Razor, Appellee, v. Hyundai Motor America, Appellant

The Razor v. Hyundai Motor America is a decision handed down by the Illinois Supreme Court. Although it discusses several issues, the gist of the decision is commercial law, more specifically a contract for the sale of a vehicle. Commercial law, by and large, is regulated by state law, Illinois in this case, and not federal law. Moreover, Illinois commercial law (usually referenced to as contract law) is mainly based on judicial precedent, in other words decisions handed down by judges in particular matters. However, there are laws enacted by the Illinois legislature (named statutes) that regulate various aspects of contract law. One of the most important such laws is the Uniform Commercial Code Article 2 (so called UCC) which is
27

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_law

a statute regulating the various aspects of contracts for sales of goods (a good is almost anything that is not real property). The plaintiff Shante Razor bought in 2001 a new Hyundai Sonata. The automobile dealership from which she had purchased the vehicle subcontracted with ProSound for the installation of a remote starter and alarm system at a time subsequent to the purchase. However, following installation of the remote starter and alarm, the plaintiff experienced repeated problems starting the vehicle and had it towed back to the dealership repeatedly. Eventually the starter system was replaced. After over four months of difficulties, plaintiff filed suit. She was still driving the vehicle at the time of the circuit court trial in May of 2003. Damage awards were made to her at that time. The issues in this appeal are limited to damages. The Razor v. Hyundai Motor America decision expands on a UCC section that deals with warranties, limitation of remedies and exclusion of damages. The main holding was that Hyundais disclaimer of warranties and damages provided for in the sales contract was unconscionable and unenforceable and thus the purchaser of the vehicle was entitled to damages against Hyundai. (unconscionability refers to a situation where a term is so difficult to find, read, or understand or so inordinately one-sided in one partys favor that the consumer cannot fairly be said to have been aware he was agreeing to it). At the conclusion of the jury trial, the plaintiff was awarded $3,500 in consequential damages for aggravation, inconvenience and loss of use. That award was upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court in this decision. Although there was a clause in the limited warranty prohibiting consequential damages, the circuit court had refused to enforce it, and the supreme court agreed with this result, finding that such a exclusion would, in these circumstances, be unconscionable. The supreme court noted that the exclusion of the consequential damages was
9

not found in any contract document signed by the plaintiff, but was part of the manufacturers warranty, which was contained in the owners manual found by the plaintiff in the glove compartment after she first drove the car off the lot. An award of $12,227 in attorney fees and costs had been made, and that award stands. On plaintiffs breach-of-warranty claim, an award of $5,000 had been made for the diminished value of the vehicle. The supreme court found this amount to be unsupported by the evidence, but also found that the circuit court had made rulings which restricted the plaintiffs presentation of evidence. The supreme court held that a new trial should be conducted exclusively on the issue of warranty damages and remanded the cause for this purpose.

Supreme Court of Illinois28. Shante RAZOR, Appellee29,v. HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA, Appellant . No. 98813.Feb. 2, 2006. Modified on Denial of Rehearing31 June 29, 2006.
30

Curtea Suprem a statului Illinois. Shante RAZOR, Intimat, mpotriva HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA, Recurent.

Nr 98813. 02 februarie 2006. Modificat ca urmare a refuzului reexaminrii 29 iunie 2006.

28

The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in the

current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five appellate judicial districts of the
29

state.

The

court

has

limited

original

jurisdiction

and

has

final

appellate

jurisdiction.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Illinois) Legal English includes technical i.e. legal terms, as well as non-technical, i.e. non-legal, every day vocabulary.

The words from the former category have fixed legal meanings and cannot be replaced by other words, such as Appellee (Hanem E. El-Farahaty, 2008, volume 1, Legal Translation, Theory and Practice, pp. 12)
30 31

idem Apellant Rehearing is a second consideration which the court gives to a cause, on a second argument.

A rehearing takes place principally when the court has doubts on the subject to be decided; but it cannot be granted by the supreme court after the cause has been remitted to the court below to carry into effect the decree of the supreme court.( http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/rehearing)

10

Hugh appellant.

C.

Griffin,

Chicago,

for

Hugh C. Griffin, Chicago, pentru recurent. M. Scott Cohen, Chicago, pentru intimat.

Scott M. Cohen, Chicago,for appellee. Bradley B. Falkof, Chicago, pentru amicus Bradley B. Falkof Chicago, for amicus curiae, Mercedes-Benz, S.U.A., S.R.L. curiae32 Mercedes-Benz, U.S.A., L.L.C33. Judectorul FREEMAN a pronunat hotrrea judecat: federal Prezentul apel implic Legea federal a Justice34 FREEMAN delivered the care reflect punctul de vedere al instantei de judgment of the court, with opinion: This appeal involves the

Magnuson-Moss Warranty-Federal Trade garaniilor Magnuson-Moss i Codul Comercial

32

Complete equivalence between the terms of two legal systems can only be attained if both legal languages refer

to the same legal system, considering an acceptable equivalence between two legal systems and not two languages. If no equivalence can be established, De Groot suggests several alternatives: citation of the nontranslated term, paraphrasing, the creation of neologisms or a combination of these. (De Groot, G.R. 1988, Problems of Legal Translation From the Point of View of a Comparative Lawyer, XIth World Congress of FIT Proceedings: Translation Our Future, Maastricht, Euroterm, 407421). This is the case of amicus curiae for which I choosed the citation of the nontranslated term, newly introduced in Romanian language. The phrase amicus curiae is legal Latin and literally means "friend of the court". An amicus curiae (also spelled amicus curi; plural amici curiae) is someone, not a party to a case, who volunteers to offer information to assist a court in deciding a matter before it. The information provided may be a legal opinion in the form of a brief, a testimony that has not been solicited by any of the parties, or a learned treatise on a matter that bears on the case. The decision
33

on

whether

to

admit

the

information

lies

at

the

discretion

of

the

court.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amicus_curiae) A limited liability company (LLC) is "a flexible form of enterprise that blends elements of partnership and

corporate structures. It is a legal form of company that provides limited liability to its owners in the vast majority of
34

United

States

jurisdictions".

LLCs

do

not

need

to

be

organized

for

profit.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_liability_company) Justice is the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, fairness, religion and/or equity. Justice is the result of the fair and proper administration of law. It is the quality of being just; in conformity to truth and reality in expressing opinions and in conduct; honesty; fidelity; impartiality or just treatment; fair representation of facts respecting merit or demerit. Yet, in this case it refers to a person duly commissioned to hold court sessions, to try and decide controversies and administer justice- translated judecator. (http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/rehearing)

11

Commission Improvement Act (Act)35 and Uniform al statului Illinois the Illinois Uniform Commercial Code36. The only issues raised concern the
37

Singurele probleme ridicate n recurs privesc acordrii daunelor ctre intimat.

propriety of the damages awarded to the justeea

plaintiff. The primary question is whether ntrebarea fundamental este dac de fapt the circuit court38 acted properly in instana de fond a procedat corect refuznd s refusing to enforce a contractual clause pun n aplicare o clauz contractual care prohibiting the award of consequential interzice acordarea de daune incidentale. damages. There is also a sufficiency of the
35

Un argument secundar ridicat de recurent

The MagnusonMoss Warranty Act (P.L. 93-637) is a United States federal law, (15 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.). in 1975, it is the federal statute that governs warranties on consumer products.

Enacted

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson%E2%80%93Moss_Warranty_Act). As it doesnt have an equivalent in Romanian Language Ive translated adapting the expression Legea federala a garantiilor Magnuson-Moss.
36

The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), a comprehensive code addressing most aspects of commercial law,

is generally viewed as one of the most important developments in American law. The UCC text and draft revisions are written by experts in commercial law and submitted as drafts for approval to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (now referred to as the Uniform Law Commissioners), in collaboration with the American Law Institute. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Commercial_Code) When the TL does not have the exact equivalent, like in this case the translator may resort to what Asensio calls functional adaptation (Roberto Mayoral Asensio, 2003, Translating Official Documents, Translation Practices Explained No., pp. 59) Codul comercial uniform al Illinois.
37

Legal documents involve common terms with legal meaning such as propriety- the quality or state of being

appropriate or fitting whose romanian counterpart is caracter adecvat. Because they can occur in a legal context, they require more effort and alertness on the part of a legal translator. He/she may need to consult specialists, and analyze similar texts in order to arrive at the best solution. (Hanem E. El-Farahaty, 2008, volume 1, Legal Translation, Theory and Practice, Journal of Saudi Association of Languages and Translations, pp. 13) In a legal context, it is understood as ownership, unless otherwise stated.
38

The newly created United States circuit courts of appeals, which are now known as the United States courts of

appeals. This term is difficult to translate because the TL doesnt have the exact corresponding equivalent.In this context, the translator must consider the differences of meanings that this term may have in general and in a legal context. This kind of concept requires caution, investigation, and knowledge on the part of the translator.(Hanem E. El-Farahaty, 2008, volume 1, Legal Translation, Theory and Practice, Journal of Saudi Association of Languages and Translations, pp.15). Thats the reason why Ive translated it instana de fond.

12

evidence challenge to the court's award of este acela c instana de fond a admis n mod warranty damages. We affirm in part, eronat probatoriul n temeiul cruia instana a reverse in part, and remand39. acordat daunele prevzute n clauza de garanie. Curtea Suprem confirm n parte, anuleaz n parte, i trimite spre rejudecare. BACKGROUND Plaintiff Shante Razor purchased a new CONTEXT Intimata Shante Razor a achiziionat un

Hyundai Sonata from Gartner Buick, Inc. Hyundai Sonata nou de la Buick Gartner, Inc (Gartner), on August 4, 2001. At the time (Gartner), pe 04 august 2001. n momentul n she purchased the car, plaintiff also bought care a cumprat maina, intimata a cumprat, de an optional remote starter and alarm asemenea, si un sistem opional de pornire de la system from an options booklet shown to distan i de alarm pe care l-a ales dintrher by the Gartner salesman. Gartner un catalog de "opiuni" care i-a fost prezentat de subcontracted the installation of this starter ctre agentul de vnzri Gartner. Gartner a to Professional Sound Installers delegat instalarea acestei telecomenzi companiei Sound Installers (ProSound).

(ProSound). ProSound did not install it on Professional

the date plaintiff purchased her vehicle40, ProSound nu l-a instalat la data la care intimata a but a few weeks later, on August 30, 2001. achiziionat vehiculul, ci cteva sptmni mai trziu, pe 30 august 2001. The Sonata was the first new car Sonata a fost prima main nou pe care plaintiff had ever purchased. It came with a intimata a cumprat-o vreodat. Ea a fost five-year, 60,000-mile warranty, a copy of achiziionat cu o garanie pe o perioad de cinci which was introduced into evidence. In ani, si 60 de mii de mile, iar copia garaniei a

39

Remand is a legal term which has a number of related but distinct usages. Remand as a court procedure, like in

this case is: an action by an appellate court in which it sends back a case to the trial court or lower appellate court for action. It evolved in Late Latin to remandare, or "to send back word." It appears in Middle French as remander and in Middle English as remaunden, both with essentially the same meaning, "to send back." (http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/remand)
40

An expression is vague or imprecise if there can be no clear fact of the matter whether the concept applies or

not. One type of vagueness is intensional vagueness, with words such as vehicle (see Alston 1964, Moore 1981, 1985). This kind of vagueness is quite common in law. Courts are often asked to define vehicle, which is vague, opened to different interpretation as to what may constitute a vehicle: a car, an ambulance or a roller skater.

13

pertinent part, the warranty provided as fost admis n probatoriu. n chestiunile care follows: What is covered Repair or replacement of any privesc fondul cauzei, termenii garaniei, prevedeau dup cum urmeaz: Ce acoper garania Repararea sau nlocuirea oricrei componente

component originally manufactured or iniial fabricate sau instalate de ctre Hyundai installed by Hyundai Motor Company or Motor Company sau Hyundai Motor America Hyundai Motor America (HMA) that is (HMA), care se dovedete a fi defect din punct found to be defective in material or de vedere al materialului sau manoperei n workmanship under normal use and condiii normale de utilizare i de ntreinere, cu maintenance, except any item specifically excepia oricrui element specific menionat n referred to in the section What is Not seciunea "Ceea ce nu este acoperit prin Covered. What is not covered -Damage or failure resulting from: garantie." Ce nu acoper garania -Avaria sau defeciunea cauzate de:

-Negligence41 of proper maintenance as -Neglijena n ntreinere astfel cum prevede required in the Owner's Manual. -Misuse, abuse, accident, Manualul ap/inundaii sau utilizatorului. incendii. theft, -ntrebuinare greit, abuz, accident, furt,

water/flooding or fire.

-Any device42 and/or accessories not -Orice dispozitiv i / sau accesorii care nu sunt

41

Courts have developed rules of construction and sometimes judges come up with novel explanations in dealing

with linguistic uncertainty. One example is the judicial attempt to distinguish the vague and similar expressions of slight negligence, negligence and gross negligence in US law where Judge Magruder once said that it was simply the difference among a fool, a damned fool, and a God-damned fool (Christie 19631964, pp. 899).
42

In the Civil Law system, the thinking is abstract and the method is deductive. In contrast, in the Anglo-

American system, the method of legal thinking is inductive. US judges and lawyers are deeply sceptical of abstract norms. The approach to legal problems is empirical. Consequently, in the Anglo-American context, legal writing reflects the necessity to leave the judge as little room for interpretation as possible. This is most obvious in contracts between business partners (Smith 1995). They result in wordy, lengthy texts, listing a seemingly endless array of terms with seemingly similar meanings (see Chapter 5). Typically, in an American contract, one finds phrases such as any event, right, interest, title, property, ownership, entitlement and/or any other claim . . ..(Deborah Cao, Translating English, pp 30). The text from above is such an example.

14

supplied by Hyundai.

furnizate de Hyundai. DAUNE INCIDENTALE SAU

-INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL -

DAMAGES43, INCLUDING WITHOUT CONSECUTIVE, INCLUSIV CELE FR LIMITATION, LOSS OF TIME, LIMITRI PRIVIND CUANTUMUL LOR, PIERDUT, INCONVENIENTE, DE SAU A UTILIZA PIERDERI

INCONVENIENCE, LOSS OF USE OF TIMPUL

THE VEHICLE, OR COMMERCIAL IMPOSIBILITATEA LOSS VEHICULUL, COMERCIALE.

-The duration of any implied warranties, -Durata oricror garanii care nu sunt menionate including those for n mod expres inclusiv a celor pentru MERCHANTABILITY44 and FITNESS VANDABILITATE i CONFORMITATE CU FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, are UN ANUMIT SCOP, este redus la durata limited to the duration of this limited acestei garanii limitate. warranty. In late September 2001, plaintiff began La sfritul lunii septembrie 2001, intimata a experiencing difficulties with the vehicle. nceput s se confrunte cu dificulti n ceea ce On September 26, plaintiff had the vehicle privete vehiculul. In 26 septembrie, intimata a

43

Incidental Damages are a type of legal damages, (money claimed by, ordered to be paid to, a person as

compensation for loss or injury), that are reasonably associated with or related to actual damages. In American commercial law, incidental damages are a seller's commercially reasonable expenses incurred in stopping delivery or in transporting and caring for goods after a buyer's breach of contract,) or a buyer's expenses reasonably incurred in caring for goods after a seller's breach of contract.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidental_damages). In this case a translator can seek an approximate translation to give the nearest meaning of the original. Consequential damages (also sometimes referred to as indirect or special damages), is one of the damages, the other being direct damages, that may be awarded to plaintiff in a civil action who claims that terms of an agreement were not honored... include loss of product and loss of profit or revenue and may be recovered if it is determined such damages were reasonably foreseeable or "within the contemplation
44

of

the

parties"

at

the

time

of

contract

formation.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consequential_damages). merchantable adj. a product of a high enough quality to make it fit for sale. To be merchantable an article for

sale must be usable for the purpose it is made. It must be of average worth (not necessarily special) in the marketplace and must not be broken, unworkable, damaged, contaminated or flawed. (http://legaldictionary.thefreedictionary.com/merchantable)

15

towed to Gartner for service because it remorcat vehiculul la Gartner pentru service, failed to start when she turned the key. She deoarece nu a reuit s o porneasc atunci cnd a experienced the same problem and again pus contactul. Ea s-a confruntat cu aceeai had the vehicle towed to Gartner for problem i, din nou a trebuit s remorcheze service on October 6, October 16, and vehiculul la Gartner pentru service pe 6 October 25. On the latter occasion, Gartner kept the vehicle for more than two octombrie, 16 octombrie i 25 octombrie. Cu aceasta ultim ocazie, Gartner a reinut weeks, vehiculul pentru mai mult de dou sptmni,

providing plaintiff with a rental car to use furnizndu-i intimatei o main nchiriat pe care during the time the vehicle was out of her s o foloseasc n perioada n care vehiculul nu possession. Nevertheless, the problem s-a aflat n posesia ei. Cu toate acestea, problema happened again on November 21, the day s-a repetat, pe 21 noiembrie, cu o zi nainte de before Thanksgiving, when plaintiff had Ziua Recunotinei, atunci cnd intimata i luase taken the day off from work to go shopping o zi liber de la locul de munc pentru a merge la for the holiday. After a technician came to cumprturi pentru vacan. Dup ce un her home and was himself unable to start tehnician a venit la ea acas i nu a reuit s the car, the vehicle was yet again towed to porneasc maina, vehiculul a fost din nou Gartner for attempted repairs. remorcat la Gartner pentru ncercarea reparrii lui. Sometimes after being towed to Uneori, dup ce era remorcat la Gartner

Gartner the vehicle started normally, other vehiculul pornea normal, alteori nu. times it did not. Additionally, after the October 25 non plus, dup imposibilitatea pornirii n 25 start, when the vehicle was kept for more octombrie, atunci cnd vehiculul a fost reinut than two weeks, ProSound removed the pentru mai mult de dou sptmni, ProSound a remote starter it had originally installed on dezinstalat telecomanda iniial instalat pe plaintiff's vehicle and replaced it with an vehiculul intimatei i a nlocuit-o cu un model updated model. Plaintiff was not charged actualizat. Intimata nu a fost taxat pentru nici for any of the attempted repairs. In December 2001, plaintiff filed suit una din ncercrile de reparare. n decembrie 2001, intimata a intentat o mpotriva recurentei, Hyundai Motor

against defendant, Hyundai Motor America aciune

16

(Hyundai). Plaintiff made claims against America (Hyundai). Intimata a fcut afirmaii Hyundai pursuant to the Magnuson-Moss mpotriva Hyundai in conformitate cu Legea Warranty Act for breach of written Federal a Garaniilor Magnuson-Moss, acuznd warranty and breach of implied warranty of nclcarea garaniei scrise i nclcarea garaniei merchantability45. Plaintiff also alleged46 implicite de vandabilitate. De asemenea, intimata that Hyundai had violated the Illinois New a pretins c Hyundai a nclcat Legea proteciei Vehicle Buyer Protection Act. The case initially went to arbitration. cumprtorului unui vehicol nou din Illinois. Actiunea a fost introdus n prealabil la

The arbitration panel found in plaintiff's Curtea de arbitraj. Comitetul de arbitraj s-a favor, and entered an award of $6,500, plus pronunat n favoarea intimatei, i a hotrt attorney47 fees and costs. Hyundai rejected acordarea unor daune n valoare de 6.500 dolari, this award and demanded trial. plus onorariile avocailor si costurile legate de proces. Hyundai a respins arbitrajul i a cerut judecarea la instana de drept comun.
45

Implied warranties come in two general types: merchantability and fitness. An implied warranty of

merchantability is an unwritten and unspoken guarantee to the buyer that goods purchased conform to ordinary standards of care and that they are of the same average grade, quality, and value as similar goods sold under similar circumstances. In other words, merchantable goods are goods fit for the ordinary purposes for which they are to be used. (http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Implied+Warranty)
46

The word to allege has different meanings: 1. To say, especially in making a legal statement, without giving

proof ;2. To assert to be true; affirm, 3.To assert without or before proof; 3. To state (a plea or excuse, for example) in support or denial of a claim or accusation; 4.Archaic To bring forward as an authority. To be able to make the right choise the translator must understand the legal, technical meaning and not the ordinary one: a sustine.
47

There are stocks of words that are unique to law associated with the legal profession. A lawyer is a person

licensed by the state to advise clients in legal matters and represent them in the court of law. Lawyers have many names in different countries. For instance, in English, there are lawyer,counsel, advocate, attorney, solicitor, barrister and counsellor. In the United States, lawyers are ordinarily referred to as lawyer and attorney, or formally, Attorney at Law. In contrast, in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and several other Common Law countries, there are generally two kinds of lawyers solicitors and barristers. The different titles of solicitor and barrister are a reflection of division of labour in the legal profession in these countries, and the influence of the early developments of the legal profession in England over those territories (Deborah Cao, Translating Law, pp.61). In Romania on the other hand there is only one word for all these concepts avocat.

17

The case went to trial in February

Cazul a fost judecat la curtea cu juri n

2003. Plaintiff was the sole witness for her februarie 2003. Intimata a fost singurul martor al case, and most of the above undisputed acuzrii, i cele mai multe dintre faptele expuse facts are drawn from her testimony. In mai sus sunt necontestate fiind extrase din addition, plaintiff testified that she never mrturia ei. n plus, intimata a depus mrturie c saw the actual warranty until after she had nu a vzut niciodata efectiv garania nainte de a purchased48 the car, because the warranty cumpra maina, pentru c garania a fost was contained in the owner's manual, cuprins n manualul proprietarului, pe care l-a which she saw for the first time in the vzut pentru prima dat n torpedoul mainii ei glove box of her vehicle when she drove it atunci cnd ea a condus-o n afara pistei. off the lot. Plaintiff's purchase contract, a copy of Contractul de cumprare al intimatei, a crui sau s fac referire la garania which was introduced into evidence, does copie a fost introdus ca prob, nu pare s not appear to contain or refer to the vehicle conin warranty. When asked on

cross- vehiculului. Cnd a fost ntrebat n introgatoriul

examination if she had seen the warranty contradictoriu dac a vzut garania pe o on a placard at Gartner, plaintiff testified pancarta la Gartner, intimata a negat. Intimata a that she had not. Plaintiff testified that she declarat c ea a efectuat toate lucrrile de had performed all required maintenance on ntreinere necesare mainii ei, nu a fost her car, had never been in an accident or niciodat implicat ntr-un accident sau victima been the victim of vandalism, and that no vandalismului, i c nimeni in afara de Gartner one other than Gartner had ever performed nu a efectuat reparaii la vehicul. any repairs on the vehicle. During plaintiff's direct examination, n timpul interogrii intimatei, avocatul defense counsel objected when plaintiff's aprrii a obiectat atunci cnd avocatul intimatei

48

Synonyms refer to different words that have similar meaning such as buy and purchase. This category of

words is known in legal discourse as lexical doublets They are difficult to translate because the SL may not have the exact corresponding equivalents. Yet, in the case of Romanian language, translating these vocabularies is not too difficult because Romanian is rich with synonyms. (ex. a cumpara, a achizitiona)

18

counsel49 inquired regarding her purchase a pus ntrebri cu privire la achiziionarea of prior automobiles. During a lengthy anterioar de ctre ea a unor automobile. n sidebar, counsel explained that he was timpul ndelungat al ntrevederii private ntre attempting to lay a foundation in order to judector i avocaii prilor, avocatul intimatei a ask her how much the car's value to her explicat c el a ncercat s ntruneasc minimele had decreased because of the problems she cerine legale pentru a o ntreba ulterior ct de had with it. mult a sczut, din punctul ei de vedere, valoarea mainii ei ca urmare a problemelor pe care le-a avut cu ea. The court ruled that plaintiff could not answer such a question. The Curtea a hotrt c intimata nu putea court rspunde la o astfel de ntrebare. Instana a

indicated that plaintiff could testify as to indicat c intimata ar putea depune mrturie "cu what her feelings were, what her frame of privire la sentimentele pe care ea le-a trit i cu mind was and the impact of the slow start privire la ce a avut n minte datorit problemelor situation on her personal feelings. Plaintiff was permitted to testify that tehnice ale mainii. Intimatei i s-a permis s depun mrturie

the purchase price of her Sonata was asupra faptului c preul de achiziie al Sonatei ei $16,522, and that she would eventually era 16.522 dolari, i c ea ar fi pltit n cele din have paid a total of $21,249 for the car, urm un total de 21.249 dolari pentru main, including finance charges50. inclusiv dobnd.

49

In the United States of America, the term counselor-at-law designates, specifically, an attorney admitted to

practice in all courts of law; but as the United States legal system makes no formal division of the legal profession into two classes, as in England, most US citizens use the term loosely in the same sense as lawyer, meaning one who is versed in (or practicing) law. When the TL does not have the exact equivalent, the translator may resort to what Asensio (2003, op.cit., pp. 59) calls functional adaptation. In our case having no exact equivalent for counselor/barrister/solicitor we translate-avocat.
50

The word charge has many different meanings: 1.an impetuous rush toward someone or something,

2.(criminal law) a pleading describing some wrong or offense; 3.the price charged for some article or service; 4. the quantity of unbalanced electricity in a body; 5. attention and management implying responsibility for safety;6. a special assignment that is given to a person or group;7. a person committed to your care; 8. financial liabilities (such as a tax); 9. (psychoanalysis) the libidinal energy invested in some idea or person or object; 10. the swift release of a store of affective force; 11. request for payment of a debt; 12. a formal statement of a command or

19

Plaintiff testified that the vehicle did

Intimata a depus mrturie c vehiculul nu i-a

not provide her the type of transportation asigurat tipul de transport la care ea s-a ateptat. she expected. She testified, It's a brand Ea a spus, "Este o main nou nou. M new car. I expected it to be perfect, ateptam ca ea s fie perfect, fr cusur sau cu flawless or minimal problems, certainly not probleme minime, cu siguran nu ca cele cu the ones that I encountered here. She care m-am confruntat n aceast situaie." Ea a testified that she would not purchase the mrturisit c ea nu ar mai cumpra acelai same vehicle today, because it was proven vehicul, astzi, pentru c "s-a dovedit a fi unreliable, and she would not today pay nesigur", si c ea nu ar mai plti astzi preul pe the price she had originally paid for the care l-a pltit iniial pentru vehicul, pentru c vehicle, because given the problems that "avnd n vedere problemele pe care acest this vehicle-that I have had with this vehicul, pe care le-am avut cu acest vehicul sau vehicle or the problems the vehicle has problemele pe care vehiculul le-a avut, este ca o had, that's like a used car. However, on main folosit. Cu toate acestea, intimata n a

cross-examination, plaintiff admitted she interogatoriul

contradictoriu,

was still driving the car at the time of trial- recunoscut c mai conducea nc maina la May 2003-and had not experienced any momentul procesului- mai 2003 i nu a difficulties with it since December 2001. Plaintiff offered her exhibits into ntmpinat dificulti cu ea din decembrie 2001. Intimata a oferit o serie de documente in

evidence and rested. Hyundai moved for a probatoriu i i-a ncheiat pledoaria. Hyundai a directed verdict51, which the court denied propus un verdict direct, pe care instana l-a in its entirety. During argument on the respins n ntregime. n timpul argumentrii motion, the court initially ruled that propunerii, instana a hotrt iniial c

injunction to do something; 13. an assertion that someone is guilty of a fault or offence. When translated into other languages, the distinctions may be lost. In our case the meaning is number 8 dobnd.
51

In a jury trial, a directed verdict is an order from the presiding judge to the jury to return a particular verdict.

Typically, the judge orders a directed verdict after finding that no reasonable jury could reach a decision to the contrary. After a directed verdict, there is no longer any need for the jury to decide the case. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed_verdict). This phrase doesnt have am equivalent into Romanian language because the Romanian legal system daoesnt have a jury.Thats why Ive decided to translate it word by word.

20

Hyundai's disclaimer52 of incidental and documentul prin care Hyundai excludea daunele consequential damages was not incidentale i consecutive, nu era excesiv, dar la i a hotrt c unconscionable, but shortly thereafter the scurt timp dup aceea, instana nsi a revenit court reversed itself and ruled that the asupra disclaimer was unconscionable53 propriei hotrri and documentul respectiv a fost excesiv i c nu va fi

would not be enforced. When defense admis. Atunci cnd avocatul aprrii a ntrebat counsel inquired of the court as to the basis instana de judecat care este motivul hotrrii for its ruling that the disclaimer was sale c actul a fost excesiv, instana de judecat a unconscionable54, the court responded: THE COURT: The number of rspuns: "Curtea: Numrul de ncercri al intimatei de

attempts that the plaintiff attempted for a efectua reparaii. Faptul c intimata avea repairs. The fact that the plaintiff needed, nevoie, folosea sau inteniona s foloseasc used or intended to use the vehicle for vehiculul pentru transportul ctre i de la locul transportation to and from work. The fact de munc. Faptul c intimata nu a putut folosi that the plaintiff was unable to use the vehiculul pentru perioada n cauz, pentru scopul vehicle for the time period in question for menit. " it's intended use. After the court denied Hyundai's Dup ce instana a respins propunerea

motion for a directed verdict, the defense Hyundai pentru un verdict direct, avocatul called its sole witness, Randy Wood. Wood aprarii a chemat martorul unic, Randy Wood.
52

The noun DISCLAIMER has 2 senses:1.(law) a voluntary repudiation of a person's legal claim to something;

2. denial of any connection with or knowledge of. Since legal systems vary from state to state, each country has its own independent legal terminology. In Romania this would be translated as act de excludere.
53

Unconscionability (also known as unconscientious dealings) is a term used in contract law to describe a

defense against the enforcement of a contract based on the presence of terms that are excessively unfair to one party. Typically, such a contract is held to be unenforceable because the consideration offered is lacking or is so obviously inadequate that to enforce the contract would be unfair to the party seeking to escape the contract. In Romanian legal system this concept is similar to Lesion which is that defect of consent, which consists into the disproportion in value between the two benefits of parts of the contract.
54

The English legal lexicon is full of archaic words, formal and ritualistic usage, word strings, common words

with uncommon meanings and words of over-precision, among others (see Mellinkoff 1963, Danet 1980, Bowers 1989, Tiersma 1999). Unconsciable is a common word with uncommon meaning.

21

is treasurer and part owner of ProSound, Wood este proprietarul trezorier i asociat al the company which installed plaintiff's ProSound, compania care a instalat alarma alarm and remote starter system. He testified that ProSound had intimatei i sistemul de pornire de la distan. El a mrturisit c ProSound a inspectat

inspected the system installed on plaintiff's sistemul instalat pe vehiculul intimatei cu mai vehicle on more than one occasion, and no multe ocazii, i nici o problem nu a fost gasit problem was ever found. Although ProSound did replace vreodat. Dei ProSound a nlocuit sistemul intimatei

plaintiff's system with the newest model, cu cel mai nou model, aceasta a fost doar n this was for customer satisfaction purposes scopul satisfacerii nevoilor clientei, pentru c only, because ProSound never found niciodat ProSound nu a gsit ceva n neregul anything wrong with plaintiff's system. la sistemul intimatei. Wood, de asemenea, a Wood also testified that the system could mrturisit c sistemul ar fi putut el nsui itself prevent the car from starting, if one mpiedica maina s porneasc, dac cineva ar fi attempted to start it with the key after ncercat s-o porneasca dupa blocarea mainii cu locking the car with the remote control. After the defense rested, Hyundai telecomand. Dup ce aprarea i-a expus concluziile,

renewed its motion55 for a directed verdict, Hyundai a rennoit propunerea pentru un verdict including specifically arguing that the direct, argumentnd inclusiv n mod special court should not have reversed its initial faptul c instana nu ar fi trebuit s revin asupra conclusion regarding the enforceability of concluziilor iniiale privind caracterul executoriu

55

The courts often have to deal with linguistic problems such as: ambiguity, vagueness and other uncertainties

found in legal texts in the search for uniform interpretation and legal certainty. (Deborah Cao, 2007, Translating Law, TOPICS IN TRANSLATION 33, Series Editors: Susan Bassnett, University of Warwick and Edwin Gentzler, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, pp.22). The senses of the legal term motion is different from the senses it has in ordinary language. In law, a motion is a procedural device to bring a limited, contested issue before a court for decision. A motion may be thought of as a request to the judge (or judges) to make a decision about the case. Motions may be made at any point in administrative, criminal or civil proceedings, although that right is regulated by court rules which vary from place to place. The party requesting the motion may be called the movant, or may simply be the moving party. The party opposing the motion is the nonmovant or nonmoving party.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_(legal))

22

the consequential damages disclaimer. The al actului prin care nega daunele consecutive. court denied Hyundai's motions and Instana a respins propunerile Hyundai i a supus cazul judecii unui juriu. Juriul a ntors verdictul n favoarea intimatei nclcarea obligaiilor de garanie,

submitted the case to the jury. The jury returned a verdict for plaintiff

on the breach of warranty claims, awarding pentru

her $5,000 in warranty damages for the acordndu-i daune rezultate din garanie n sum diminished value of the Sonata due to the de 5000 $ pentru valoarea diminuat a Sonatei ca defects, and $3,500 in consequential urmare a defeciunilor, i 3500 dolari daune damages also for aggravation yes to a and consecutive pentru agravarea problemelor i precum i imposibilitatea special utilizrii. Juriul a rspuns, de asemenea, "da" la o inconvenience and loss of use. The jury inconveniente answered

interrogatory which asked, Did plaintiff intrebare speciala de genul, "A dovedit intimata prove the aftermarket remote starter-alarm c sistemul de pornire a alarmei de la distan system was not the cause of the no-start instalat dup achiziionarea mainii nu a fost condition56? The jury found in defendant's cauza imposibilitii de pornire a mainii?" Juriul favor, however, on plaintiff's claim under s-a pronunat n favoarea intimatului, cu privire the New Vehicle Buyer Protection Act. la cererea intimatei n temeiul Actului de The court awarded plaintiff $12,277 in protecie a Cumprtorului unei maini noi. attorney fees and costs. Instana a hotrt acordarea sumei de 12.277 dolari reprezentnd onorariile costurile n favoarea intimatei. The appellate court affirmed in all respects. Hyundai petitioned for leave to appeal to this court, which we granted.
56

avocatului i

Instana de apel s-a pronunat cu privire la toate aspectele. Hyundai a solicitat permisiunea de a face apel la aceast instan, solicitare pe care am

Extensive use of conditions, qualifications and exceptions are the additional linguistic features of legislative

language, commonly employed to express complex possibilities. These peculiar linguistic features, according to Bhatia, often create barriers to the effective understanding of such writing for the ordinary reader including the translator. Thus, to be able to understand and translate legislative provisions, one is inevitably required to take into account the typical difficulties imposed by some of these factors (Bhatia 1997, Language, Culture and the Law: The Formulation of Legal Concepts across Systems and Cultures, pp 208).

23

aprobat-o. ANALYSIS Before this court the issues have been

57

ANALIZA Chestiunile legale propuse spre soluionare

pared down . Hyundai neither challenges instanei sunt limitate la cteva. Hyundai nu a the jury's conclusions regarding causation obiectat nici concluziile juriului privind legtura nor contends that plaintiff failed to prove de cauzalitate i nici nu susine c intimata nu a that the warranty failed of its essential reuit s dovedeasc faptul c garania nu i-a purpose. Plaintiff does not
58

produs efectele. cross-appeal the Intimata nu a declarat recurs impotriva privete captul de cerere ntemeiat pe Legea proteciei cumprtorului unui vehicol nou. Nici una dintre pri nu ridic vreo obiecie

jury verdict in Hyundai's favor on her New verdictului juriului n favoarea Hyundai n ce Vehicle Buyer Protection Act claim.

Neither

party

raises

any

issues

regarding the circuit court's conduct of the referitoare la modul n care instana a condus trial. Rather, the arguments now focus procesul. Mai degrab, argumentele se concentreaz

exclusively on damages. Hyundai first acum exclusiv pe daune. Hyundai susine in argues that the circuit court erred in primul rand c instana de fond n mod eronat a refusing to enforce the contractual respins punerea n aplicare a clauzei contractuale

exclusion of incidental and consequential care prevede excluderea daunelor incidentale si damages. Hyundai argues that the mere fact that consecutive Hyundai susine c simplul fapt c garania sa

its warranty failed of its essential purpose59 nu i-a produs scopul esenial nu invalideaz does not invalidate the consequential excluderea daunelor consecutive, i susine c damages disclaimer, and contends that intimata nu a introdus nici o dovad care s
57 58 59

In legal English passive voice is extensively used.(Deborah Cao, Translating Law, pp.21) In legal English multiple negations are extensively used. (Deborah Cao, Translating Law, pp.21) In translation, as a result of the systemic differences in law, many legal words in one language do not find ready

equivalents in another,causing both linguistic and legal complications. (Deborah Cao, Translating Law, pp.22). Ive translated failed of its essential purpose into nu si-a produs efectele, taking in consideration what must be this expressions Romanian legal meaning.

24

plaintiff introduced no evidence to support justifice decizia instanei c actul prin care nega the circuit court's ruling that the disclaimer daunele nu ar trebui pus in aplicare. n al doilea should not be enforced60. Second, Hyundai rnd, Hyundai susine c nu au existat dovezi contends that there was insufficient suficiente pentru a justifica daunele acordate de evidence to support the jury's warranty juriu n temeiul garaniei n cele din urm, damage award. Finally, Hyundai argues Hyundai argumenteaz c n cazul n care that if this court reverses both damage aceast instan ar reanaliza ambele categorii de awards, we must also reverse the circuit daune acordate, trebuie s reanalizeze, de court's award of fees and costs. Plaintiff asemenea, atribuirea de catre instana de fond a raises no additional arguments. Thus, these onorariilor avocailor i costurilor litigiului. are the only issues before us. Intimata nu ridic obiecii. Astfel, acestea sunt singurele probleme supuse spre dezbatere in faa instanei. I. Enforceability of Hyundai's Disclaimer of Incidental/Consequential Damages I. Legalitatea documentului exclude prin care

Hyundai

daunele

incidentale/consecutive. The main issue before this court is the Principala problem adus n faa acestei enforceability of Hyundai's disclaimer of instane este legalitatea documentului prin care incidental and consequential damages. Hyundai excludea daunele incidentale si Hyundai argues that the disclaimer is consecutive. Hyundai susine c actul de independent of the limited remedy, and the excludere a daunelor este independent de disclaimer may stand even if its limited compensaia limitat, i c actul de excludere remedy61 failed of its essential purpose. poate ramne valabil chiar dac compensaia

60

In legal English prepositional phrases and complex structures are extensively used (Deborah Cao, Translating

Law, pp.21), like in this example.

61

In view of the differences in historical and cultural development, the elements of the source legal system cannot

be simply transposed into the target legal system (Sarcevic 1997, New Approach to Legal Translation pp. 13). Thus, the main challenge to the legal translator is the incongruency of legal systems in the SL and TL. In common law jurisdictions and related jurisdictions (e.g. the United States), the law of remedies distinguishes between a legal remedy (e.g. a specific amount of monetary damages) and an equitable remedy (e.g. injunctive relief or specific performance). Another type of remedy is declaratory relief, where a court determines the rights of the parties to an action without awarding damages or ordering equitable relief. In English and American

25

Hyundai contends that the disclaimer may limitat nu-i produce efectele. Hyundai susine be overridden only if it is itself c actul prin care daunele sunt excluse poate s unconscionable, a standard which Hyundai nu fie luat n seam doar dac este el nsui argues has not been met in the instant case. excesiv, criteriu despre care Hyundai susine c Plaintiff responds that the disclaimer nu a fost ndeplinit n spe. Intimata rspunde c should fall with the limited warranty, and actul de excludere a daunelor ar trebui s aiba contends that even if this court finds them soarta juridic a garaniei limitate i s fie to be severable, the disclaimer in this case desfiinat, i susine c, dei aceast instan le was unconscionable. A. Independent vs. va gsi a fi separabile, actul de excludere n acest caz Dependent A. Approach to Provisions Limiting Remedy abordrii and Excluding Consequential Damages a Abordarea fost "Independent" privind excesiv. mpotriva clauzele

"Dependente"

compensaiilor limitate i excluderea daunelor consecutive. Aa cum s-a notat n prealabil, cererea a garaniilor Magnuson-Moss.

As previously noted, plaintiff's claim

was brought under the Magnuson-Moss intimatei a fost introdus n temeiul Legii Warranty Act. Under62 the Act, consumers federale who have been damaged by n

any conformitate cu Legea, consumatorii care au fost

warrantor's failure to comply with its lezai prin nerespectarea de catre garant a obligations63 under a written warranty may obligaiilor care i revin n conformitate cu o
jurisprudence, there is a legal maxim that for every right, there is a remedy; where there is no remedy, there is no right."
62

Alcarez and Hughes (Var, Enrique Alcaraz and Hughes, Brian, 2002, Legal Translation Explained,

Manchester, St Jerome Publishing, pp. 165) note that each specialist field has its own functional vocabulary. For them legal English uses two main types of functional language: (1) adjectival/adverbial groups (e.g. hereinafter, and forthwith), (2) conjunctions and prepositional phrases (e.g. under, prior to, and in accordance with, etc.). Translating this category of words from English into Romanian is difficult due to the archaic nature of such words that may not have equivalents in Romanian. Ive translated under the Act into n conformitate cu Legea.
63

Generally speaking, legal writing is characterised by an impersonal style, with the extensive use of declarative

sentences pronouncing rights and obligations (Deborah Cao, 2007, Translating Law,pp.22). In our case the rights and obligations of the seller and the rights and obligations of the buyer are discussed from different points of views.

26

bring suit in any court of competent garanie scris pot introduce o aciune, la orice jurisdiction in any State or the District of instan competent din orice stat sau District din Columbia. The Act itself does not determine the enforceability of the Columbia. Cu toate acestea, Legea n sine nu stabilete

consequential legalitatea actului prin care erau excluse daunele Legea Magnusson-Moss se

damages disclaimer, however. The Act consecutive.

does supersede state law64, but only to the substituie legii de stat, dar numai n msura n extent that state law is inconsistent with the care legea de stat este incompatibil cu Legea Act. The warranty at issue in this case was Magnusson-Moss. Garania n discuie n acest a limited warranty, and the Act does not set caz a fost o garanie limitat, iar Legea out requirements for limited warranties. Magnusson-Moss nu stabilete cerinele pentru Rather, the Act merely prescribes certain garantiile limitate. Legea Magnusson-Moss requirements with which warranties must prevede mai degrab numai anumite cerine cu comply in order to be called full care garaniile trebuie s se conformeze pentru a warranties. A warranty which meets the standards fi numite garanii complete. O garanie care ndeplinete standardele

set forth in section 4 of the Act shall65 be stabilite n seciunea 4 din Act, "va fi desemnat conspicuously designated a full (statement n mod vdit" drept o garanie complet of duration) warranty, and a warranty (declaraie de durat), "" i o garanie care nu which does not meet the standards set out respect standardele stabilite n seciunea 4 din
64

A hyponym describes the relationship between a general term and a more specific term that is considered a part

of it such as law, and common law, civil law, federal law, state law, etc.. (Hanem E. El-Farahaty, 2008, volume 1, Legal Translation, Theory and Practice, Journal of Saudi Association of Languages and Translations, pp. 14). The law of the United States consists of many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the United States Constitution, the foundation of the federal government of the United States. The fifty American states on the other hand are separate sovereigns with their own state constitutions, state governments, and state courts (including state supreme courts). They retain plenary power to make laws covering anything not preempted by the federal Constitution, federal statutes, or international treaties ratified by the federal Senate. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_the_United_States#State_law)
65

Legal language is performative. Words are not only something we use to say things, we also use them to do

things. A prominent linguistic feature in English legal language is the frequent use of performative markers. For instance, shall is extensively employed. (J.L. Austin (1962, 1979, see also Searle 1969, 1976,1979)

27

in section 4 of the Act shall be Legea conspicuously warranty. The Act does permit the Federal Trade terms66 designated a

Magnusson-Moss

"trebuie

fie

limited desemnat n mod vizibil drept" garanie limitat "). Legea Magnusson-Moss permite Comisiei

Commission to establish general disclosure Federale pentru Comer s stabileasc cerine requirements for the and generale pentru aducerea la cunotin a conditions67 of all warranties, e.g., that termenilor i condiiilor tuturor garaniilor, de they must clearly identify the warrantors, exemplu, c acestea trebuie s identifice n mod the warrantees, the products or parts clar garanii, garantiile, produsele sau prile covered, etc. However, the Act itself does acoperite, etc. Cu toate acestea, Legea not directly establish any such disclosure Magnusson-Moss, n sine, nu stabilete n mod requirements, nor do the parties raise any direct vreo astfel de cerin de aducere la arguments regarding any requirements the cunotin, nici prile nu ridic vreun argument FTC68 may have established. privind vreuna din cerinele pe care Comisia Federala de Comert le-ar fi putut stabili. Accordingly, to determine the n consecin, pentru a determina fora

enforceability of a consequential damages executorie a actului de negare a daunelor

66

In English contract law the word term has many synomyms: warranty, condition and covenant. A term

of a contract embodies a contractual undertaking. In the case of written contracts, terms of contract refer to every clause in the document or, in the case of an oral transaction, every matter that the parties have agreed to govern their bargain. In this sense, the word term is a synonym for stipulation, clause or provision. (Carter and Harland 1993, pp 310). This is the reason why Ive translated termen.
67

As Carter and Harland (1993) point out, the word condition is one of most ambiguous and difficult words in

contract law. It may refer either to terms generally or to the important terms of the contract like in our case. This is the reason why Ive translated conditie. The word may refer to an event the occurrence or non-occurrence of which has been agreed by the parties to have a particular result. The occurrence or non-occurrence of the event must be uncertain. The second meaning describes any term of the contract, and a third meaning an important term (promise), the breach of which gives rise to a right to terminate the performance of the contract (Carter and Harland 1993, pp 310). The word condition is a synonym for stipulation, clause or provision and is frequently used in this general way although it is more frequently used in the narrower senses.
68

The noun FTC (Federal Trade Comission) has 1 sense: 1. an independent agency of the United States federal

government that maintains fair and free competition; enforces federal antitrust laws; educates the public about identity theft.

28

disclaimer in a limited warranty, we look consecutive rezultate dintr-o garanie limitat, to state law69. In Illinois, the sale of goods trebuie sa analizm legea de stat. n Illinois, is governed by article 2 of the Uniform vnzarea de bunuri este reglementat de articolul Commercial Code. Central to this case is 2 din Codul Comercial Uniform. Fundamental section 2-719 of the UCC, which governs n acest caz este seciunea 2-719 din CCU, care Contractual modification or limitation of reglementeaz "modificarea contractual sau remedy: (1) Subject to the provisions of limitarea compensaiilor": (1) Sub rezerva dispoziiilor din

subsections (2) and (3) of this Section and subseciunile (2) i (3) ale acestei seciuni si din of the preceding section on liquidation and seciunea precedent referitoare la lichidare i limitation of damages, (a) the agreement may provide for limitarea daunelor (a) contractul poate s prevad compensaii sau compensaii care s le

remedies in addition to or in substitution for suplimentare

those provided in this Article and may limit nlocuiasc pe cele prevzute n prezentul articol or alter the measure of damages recoverable i poate s limiteze sau s modifice cuantumul under this Article, as by limiting the buyer's daunelor recuperabile n temeiul prezentului remedies to return of the goods and articol, astfel nct prin limitarea compensaiilor repayment of the price or to repair and cuvenite cumprtorului pentru restituirea replacement of non-conforming goods or bunurilor i rambursarea preului sau repararea i parts; and
69

nlocuirea bunurilor neconforme sau a prilor

The Romanian word drept is not identical conceptually to the English word law. In terms of drept as a

concept and how it is understood and practised in Romania, generally speaking, the Romanian conception of law is broader than that of the English Common Law, encompassing political science and morality. Law is not seen as being isolated from other intellectual disciplines but encompasses the study of political, social and economic sciences and public administration, and focuses on the rights and duties recognised in society according to an ideal of justice. Thus, in Romania, the essence of law lies in the general ideas it inspires, not in the technical rules by which it achieves these ends (Dadomo, Christian and Farran, Susan, 1996, The French Legal System, 2nd edition, London, Sweet & Maxwell). In contrast, the English Common Law primarily sees law as a body of rules of procedure and remedies that form the machinery of justice as administered by the courts, rather than statements of general principles and rules of ideal conduct. So, one may say that conceptually and referentially, the Romanian word drept and the English word law are not the exact equivalents. However, we have to use these two terms as linguistic equivalents in translation in many cases (Weston, Martin, 1991, An English Readers Guide to the French Legal System, Oxford, Berg.,pp. 46 for examples he cited).

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din bun/bunuri; i (b) resort to a remedy as provided is (b) s recurg la compensaia prevzut ca optional unless the remedy is expressly fiind opional cu excepia cazului n care agreed to be exclusive, in which case it is compensaia este convenit n mod expres de the sole remedy. pri ca fiind exclusiv, caz n care aceasta este singura form de compensaie. (2) Where circumstances cause an (2) Atunci cnd circumstanele determin o exclusive or limited remedy to fail of its clauz de compensaie exclusiv sau limitat s essential purpose, remedy may be had as nu-i produc efectele, se va aplica forma de provided in this Act. (3) Consequential damages may be compensaie prevzut n prezenta Lege. (3) Daunele consecutive pot fi limitate sau

limited or excluded unless the limitation or excluse cu excepia cazului n care limitarea sau exclusion is unconscionable. Limitation of excluderea este excesiv. Limitarea daunelor consequential damages for injury to the consecutive pentru prejudiciul cauzat persoanei person in the case of consumer goods is n cazul consumatorului de bunuri este suficient prima facie70 unconscionable but limitation pentru a dovedi excesivitatea, dac nu se face of damages where the loss is commercial is proba contrar, dar limitarea daunelor n cazul n

70

Another model for technical translation is the translation into a metalanguage as the universal descriptive

language for the propositional content of legal texts. The framework for developing this language is found in comparative law, which examines basic terms and legal structures in an international context. By taking into account the legal-linguistic components of the legal languages in particular, the syntactic and pragmatic meanings of legal texts, a metalanguage will emerge not only containing a few succinct legal words, but also representing a thesaurus of the legal language.( Galdia Marcus, 2003, Comparative law and legal translation, pp.3) A metalanguage already exists with regard to legal terminology for fundamental problems in civil or common law: the Latin of Roman law. Nevertheless, the Latin permits only an understanding of certain basic problems relating to legal dogma which are seldom the topic of legal translations. This has lent increasing support to arguments for a metalanguage based on comparative law as the best medium for legal translation. Prima facie is a Latin expression meaning on its first appearance, or at first sight. The literal translation would be "at first face". In common law jurisdictions, prima facie denotes evidence that unless rebutted would be sufficient to prove a particular proposition or fact. In Romanian means la prima vedere so the concepts are not identical. The meaning of the expression is prima facie unconscionable means este suficienta pentru a dovedi excesivitatea, daca nu se face proba contrara

30

not.

care pierderea este comercial nu este suficient pentru a dovedi excesivitatea. n acest caz, garania limitat oferit de ctre a cuprins, att o limitare a

In this case, Hyundai's limited warranty

contained both a limitation of remedy and Hyundai

an exclusion of consequential damages. The compensaiilor ct i o excludere a daunelor warranty expressly limited the buyer's consecutive. Garania a limitat n mod expres remedies to repair and replacement of compensaiile cuvenite cumprtorului pentru nonconforming parts, as permitted under repararea i nlocuirea pieselor neconforme, aa section 2-719(1)(a). However, the warranty cum s-a permis n conformitate cu seciunea 2 additionally provided that incidental or 719 (1) litera (a). Cu toate acestea, garania a consequential damages were not prevzut n mod suplimentar, ca daunele aa cum se permitea conform seciunii 2-719(3). Intimata a susinut-i juriul a constatat c-de covered, as permitted under section 2- incidentale i consecutive "s nu fie acoperite," 719(3). Plaintiff claimed-and the jury found-

that the Hyundai limited remedy had failed fapt clauza privind limitarea compensaiei of its essential purpose because of the datorate de Hyundai nu i-a produs efectele din persistence of the no-start problem with cauza plaintiff's car. faptului c a persistat problema

imposibilitii de pornire a mainei intimatei.

Hyundai does not question this factual Hyundai nu contest aceast stare de fapt n determination in this appeal. Thus, cadrul prezentului apel. Astfel, n conformitate according to section 2-719(2) of the UCC, cu seciunea 2 - 719 (2) din CCU, intimata a fost plaintiff was entitled to remedy as indreptit la compensaie n conformitate cu provided in this Act.Where an apparently prezenta Lege. n cazul n care o clauz aparent fair and reasonable clause because of echitabil i rezonabil din cauza unor circumstances fails in its purpose or circumstane nu reuete s-i produc efectele operates to deprive either party of the sau priveaz pe oricare dintre pri de o valoare substantial value of the bargain, it must substanial a drepturilor sale rezultnd din give way to the general remedy provisions afacere, aceasta trebuie s-i nceteze efectele of this Article). pentru a lsa s-i produc efectele dispoziiile generale privind compensaia ale prezentului articol ).

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Hyundai contends on rehearing that it

Hyundai susine n reexaminare c a "furnizat

did provide the limited warranty71 at the garania limitat la momentul cnd reclamantul a time [plaintiff] bought the Sonata, but the cumprat Sonata", dar nregistrarea n acest caz record in this case does not bear that nu susine aceast afirmaie, n afara ei nu exist assertion out-there is no evidence, nici o dovad, documentar sau testimonial, documentary or testimonial, to support pentru a sprijini simpla afirmaie fcut de Hyundai's bald assertion that plaintiff was Hyundai c intimatei i s-a pus la dispoziie o provided a copy of the warranty at the time copie a garaniei n momentul n care contractul the sale contract was signed. This is not a matter of shifting the de vnzare a fost semnat. Aceasta nu este o chestiune de schimbare a

burden of proof to Hyundai (as Hyundai sarcinii probei ctre Hyundai (intruct Hyundai additionally complains on rehearing),FN4 n mod suplimentar se plnge n reexaminare), because the fact is that plaintiff did intruct situaia de fapt este c intimata a adus produce affirmative evidence that she had dovezi care confirm c ea nu a vzut niciodat never seen the warranty until after she had garania dect dup momentul achiziionrii purchased the vehicle. Plaintiff directly and unequivocally so testified during her case in chief. vehiculului. Intimata n mod direct i fr echivoc, a depus astfel mrturie n timpul susinerii cazului

Hyundai simply failed to rebut this ei mai ales. Hyundai pur i simplu nu a reuit s evidence when it had the chance. The only rstoarne aceast dovad atunci cnd a avut possible conclusion based on the evidence ocazia. Singura concluzie posibil pe baza adduced by both parties at trial is that, in probelor prezentate de ctre ambele pri la

71

This is the warranty found in the sale of goods contracts. It is not to be confused with Warranty generally

used to describe any contractually binding undertaking or promise or specifically an unimportant undertaking or promise (see Carter and Harland 1993, pp 219). The word warranty is for these reasons ambiguous. According to Carter and Harland (1993), a warranty is a promise, the breach of which does not give rise to a right to terminate. Damages are the remedy for such a breach. Yet it is also employed to describe any binding promise, as in the distinction between terms (warranties) and representations. A third meaning still applicable to insurance contracts, is to describe a term, the breach of which gives the insurer the right to avoid the contract (Carter and Harland 1993, pp 310).

32

direct violation of section 700.11(b), the proces este faptul c, n nclcare direct a warranty was not conveyed to plaintiff at seciunii 700.11 (b), garania nu a fost transmis the time of sale. Hyundai also objects on rehearing that intimatei la momentul vnzrii. Hyundai, de asemenea, obiecteaz n

it is unfair to uphold the circuit court's reexaminare c este nedrept s se menin ruling on unconscionability because hotrrea instanei de apel cu privire la discuie niciodat excesivitatea n plngerea ei. Cu toate acestea, observm c hotrrea a Curii n ceea ce privete plaintiff never argued unconscionability in excesivitate deoarece intimata nu a pus n her complaint. However, we note that the court's

initial ruling regarding unconscionability initial

occurred at the time of Hyundai's motion excesivitatea a avut loc la data propunerii for a directed verdict at the close of Hyundai pentru un verdict direct la ncheierea plaintiff's case, before Hyundai began its cazul intimatei, nainte ca Hyundai s-i nceap case-Hyundai therefore did indeed have a cazul, Hyundai, prin urmare, a avut ntr-adevr o chance to put on evidence during its case in ans de a administra dovezile n timpul chief, if it had desired to do so. susinerii cazului su mai ales, dac ar fi dorit s fac acest lucru. More importantly, Hyundai never Mai important dect att, Hyundai nu a argued at the circuit court level that susinut niciodat la nivelul Curii de Apel c plaintiff had waived unconscionability, intimata a renunat n mod voluntar la and never suggested that the court's ruling argumentul excesivitii, i niciodat nu a thereon was procedurally unfair, neither at sugerat c hotrrea instanei a fost din punct de the time of the court's ruling nor in its vedere procedural nedreapt, nici la momentul postjudgment motion72.
72

lurii hotrrii de catre instan, nici la momentul

The most visible and striking linguistic feature of legal language as a technical language is the complex and

unique legal vocabulary found in different legal languages.This is a universal feature of legal language but different legal languages have their own unique legal vocabulary. The legal vocabulary in each language is often extensive. It results from and reflects the law of the particular legal system concerned. In translation, attributable to the differences in legal systems, many of the legal terms in one language do not correspond to terms in another, the problem of non-equivalence, a major source of difficulty in translation. Besides, within each legal lexicon, there are also peculiarities, and they do not always correspond in different legal languages. (Translating English, Deborah Cao, pp 20)This is the case of the expression postjudgment motion which doesnt have a

33

propunerii de dup judecat. If Hyundai had made this argument in a Dac Hyundai ar fi fcut acest raionament timely fashion, the trial court could have ntr-o manier binevenit, instana de judecat ar dealt with it, either reversing its ruling or fi putut s-l analizeze, fie inversndu-i hotrrea possibly amending73 the pleadings to fie indreptnd dezbaterile judiciare pentru a se conform to the proofs. Hyundai complains that by failing to conforma cu dovezile. Hyundai se plnge de faptul c prin faptul c

argue unconscionability in her pleadings nu a argumentat excesivitatea n pledoariile sale, plaintiff waived that theory, but Hyundai, intimata a renunat la aceast teorie, dar by failing to argue waiver before the trial Hyundai, prin faptul c nu a susinut renunarea court, has itself waived this waiver in faa instanei de judecat, a renunat ea insi argument.. To enforce the clause in these la acest argument ovitor. A pune n aplicare clauza n aceste condiii,

circumstances, we conclude, would indeed putem concluziona, ca ar fi ntr-adevr excesiv. be unconscionable. Accordingly, we affirm n consecin, noi susinem hotrrea Curii de the circuit court's order to that effect, as Apel n acest sens, precum i suma de 3.500 well as the $3,50074 which represents that dolari, care reprezint acea parte din verdictul portion of the jury verdict intended to juriului destinat s despgubeasc intimata recompense plaintiff for the consequential pentru daunele consecutive pe care le-a suportat. damages she incurred.

correspondant in Romanian legal language and Ive adapted the term by translating it in momentul propunerii de dupa judecata.
73 74

Performative verb amend is common in legal language. Legal effects and legal consequences are commonly obtained by merely uttering certain words, for instance,

You are guilty, or You are fined $ 300 as regularly pronounced in court. Language used in law can perform such acts as conferring rights, prescribing prohibition and granting permission. Only by articulating words, people accept public and private legal responsibilities, assume legal roles and qualities, transfer legal rights and impose or discharge obligations ( Jori, Mario, 1994, Legal Performative, pp. 2092). For this cause, legal speech acts are said to be constitutive of their effects, in this case $3,500 74 which represents that portion of the jury verdict intended to recompense plaintiff for the consequential damages she incurred

34

CONCLUSION

CONCLUZIE

For the reasons given above, the Pentru motivele prezentate mai sus, hotrrea judgment of the appellate court is affirmed instanei de apel este confirmat n parte i in part and reversed in part, and the anulat n parte, iar hotrrea instanei de apel judgment of the circuit court is also federal este, de asemenea, confirmat n parte i affirmed in part and reversed in part. We anulat n parte. Rechemm parile pentru o nou remand for a new trial on the issue of judecat cu privire la problema daunelor warranty damages75. rezultate din garanie.

5.2 The summary and the legal translation of the case judged by the U.S. Supreme Court, Conley v. Gibson, 355 U. S. 41 (1957)

Conley v. Gibson is a famous decision handed down by the United States Supreme Court. The case discusses the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP), which is the legislature (The Federal Congress) enacted law (statute) that regulates the procedural aspects of lawsuits litigated in the United States Federal Courts. The FRCP only control federal not state

litigation and merely furnish the various procedural and never the substantive law (commonly known as the merits of the case fondul cauzei). The facts of the Conley v. Gibson involve the wrongful discharge of African-American employees from a railroad company and unequal protection from their union (sindicat). Yet, the case and the substantive law discussed therein are not of great consequence. The decision is important in that the Supreme Court interpreted
75

The case Hyunday v. Razor is taken from the Official legal Format from the State Illinois: 222 Ill 2d 75, 854

NE2d 607 (2006). (both, Ill.2d si NE2d are collections of legal cases). It can also be found online at http://www.state.il.us/COURT/Opinions/SupremeCourt/2006/June/Opinions/Html/98813.htm

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FRCP no.8 to mean that a pleading (plngerea) need only contain a short plain statement of the cause of action asserted. The practical effect of this decision was very important in that plaintiffs could file complaints and initiate lawsuits without having to state almost any facts. In opposition to federal courts, most state courts have long imposed a more exacting standard for pleadings, requiring a more detailed factual statement supporting the asserted legal theory on which the complaint was brought. Conley v. Gibson was the rule in the federal courts until 2009, when the United States Supreme Court overruled it and imposed a pleading standard similar with that imposed in state courts.

CONLEY V. GIBSON, 355 U. S. 41 (1957) U.S. Supreme Court, Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41 (1957), No. 7

Conley mpotriva GIBSON, 355 U. S. 41 (1957) Curtea Suprem de Justiie a Statelor Unite Conley mpotriva Gibson, 355 US 41 (1957) Nr.7 Sedina de judecat din 21 octombrie 1957 Hotrrea definitiv pronunat n 18 noiembrie 1957

Argued October 21, 1957 Decided November 18, 1957 CERTIORARI76 TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Syllabus

RECURS LA CURTEA DE APEL A STATELOR UNITE ALE AMERICII Program

76

In terms of legal lexicon, a distinctive feature of legal language is the complex and unique legal vocabulary

found in different legal languages. This is a universal feature of legal language but different legal languages have their own unique legal vocabulary. It is the most visible and striking linguistic feature of legal language as a technical language. The legal vocabulary in each language is often extensive. It results from and reflects the law of the particular legal system concerned. In translation, due to the differences in legal systems, many of the legal terms in one language do not correspond to terms in another, the problem of non-equivalence, a major source of difficulty in translation. (Deborah Cao, 2007, Translating Law, pp.21).In the United States, certiorari is most often seen as the writ that the Supreme Court of the United States issues to a lower court to review the lower court's judgment for legal error (reversible error) and review where no appeal is available as a matter of right. (http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/certiorari).This legal term doesnt have an exact equivalent thats why Ive adapted it in the context to the romanian term recurs .

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Petitioners, who are Negro members

Petiionarii, care sunt membri de culoare ai

of a union designated as their bargaining unui sindicat desemnat ca fiind agentul lor de agent under the Railway Labor Act77, negociere conform Legii muncii Cilor Ferate, au brought a class suit78 against the union, its introdus o aciune colectiv mpotriva brotherhood and certain of their officers79 Sindicatului, a Friei sale i ai anumitor to compel them to represent petitioners funcionari ai acestora pentru a-i obliga s-i without discrimination in protection of reprezinte pe petiionari, fr discriminare, cu their employment and seniority rights80 protejarea slujbelor lor i a sporului de vechime n

77

Legal language is a technical language. Furthermore and importantly, legal language is not a universal technical

language but one that is tied to a national legal system (Weisflog, 1987, Problems of Legal Translation, pp 203), very different from the language used in pure science, like mathematics or physics. Law and legal language are system-bound, and they reflect the history, evolution and culture of a specific legal system. As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously said a long time ago: The law embodies the story of a nations development through many centuries, and it cannot be dealt with as if it contained only the axioms and corollaries of a book of mathematics. (Holmes 1881/1990, The Common Law, pg.1).
78

A class suit means A lawsuit brought by a representative member of a large group of people on behalf of all

members of the group. Smith (Smith, Sylvia,1995, Cultural Clash: Anglo-American Case Law and German Civil Law in Translation, pp. 181) believes that there are three boundary conditions for successful translation of legal texts: (1) the legal translator must acquire a basic knowledge of the legal systems, both in the SL and TL; (2) must possess familiarity with the relevant terminology; and (3) must be competent in the TL-specific legal writing style. Another slightly different description of the requirements is that the legal translator must possess the ability to extract the information from the specialised SL, and the ability to process that information. (Wagner, Anne, 2003, Translation of the Language of the Common Law into Legal French: Myth or Reality, International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, pp. 177193).
79

A related issue here is that when translating between European languages of Latin root, as in the case of

English, Romanian among others, often words in these languages look similar linguistically but turn out to be different in legal substance. Faux amis are quite prevalent. (Deborah Cao, Translating Law, pp.58).To be able to choose between the meanings is necessary to understand the concept officer which is not the Romanian term ofiterul but instead means functionar.
80

Polysemy, in legal discourse, describes words that have more than one meaning in legal documents. For

example, the word right has many distinguishable meanings. In this case, the translator should avoid mechanical translation and guess work and the only practical way is to judge the context of the statement.( Legal Translation: Theory and Practice, Hanem E. El-Farahaty, pp.9), in this case drept. The normative language of law derives from the fact that law has the basic function in society of guiding human behaviour and regulating human relations. Law is distinguished from most other types of human institutions. Law embodies the ideals and

37

under a contract between the union and cadrul unui contract ncheiat ntre Sindicat i Caile the Railroad. They alleged that the Railroad had Ferate. Ei au susinut c de fapt Caile Ferate au

purported to abolish 45 jobs held by comunicat desfiinarea a 45 de locuri de munc petitioners and other Negroes, but had deinute de ctre petiionari i ali negrii, dar c au employed whites in the same jobs (except angajat albi pe aceleai locuri de munc (cu in a few instances in which it had rehired excepia ctorva cazuri n care au fost reangajate Negroes to fill their old jobs with loss of persoanele de culoare pentru a ocupa locurile de seniority) and that, despite repeated pleas, munc vechi dar cu pierderea vechimii n munc) the union had done nothing to protect i, n ciuda unor rugmini repetate, Sindicatul nu petitioners discharges. The District Court81 dismissed the suit from such discriminatory a fcut nimic pentru a-i proteja pe petiionari de astfel de concedieri discriminatorii. Instana de fond federal a respins aciunea Consiliul National de

on the ground that the National Railroad colectiv pe motiv c, Adjustment Board had

exclusive Soluionare a Contestaiilor al Cilor Ferate are

standards people have and seek to realise in such concepts as equity, justice, rights, liberty, equal protection and the general welfare that enter the body of law (Jenkins, Iredell, 1980, Social Order and the Limits of Law: A Theoretical Essay, Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, pp. 98)
81

One major and frequently encountered difficulty in legal translation is the translation of foreign legal concepts.

It has often been claimed that legal concepts which do not exist in the target system are untranslatable It is a fact that we translate law between different legal families and legal traditions, and we have been doing so for the last few centuries. In fact, the laws and legal systems in many countries and continents have been developed on the basis of legal transfer from other legal systems (see Watson, Alan, 1974, Legal Transplant, An Approach to Comparative Law, Edinburgh). Legal concepts, practices and entire legal systems have been introduced to new political, social, cultural and legal environments this way. So, real life experience, and successful experience at that, tells us that translating law, regardless of what systems and families are involved, is not only possible, but also highly productive.This does not mean that there are no problems or the job is easy. As pointed out, translators decide on the specific degree of equivalence they can realistically intend for in a specific text (Bassnett, Susan, and Lefevere, Andr, 1998, Constructing Cultures: Essays on Literary Translation, Clevedon, Multilingual Matters, pp. 2). Therefore, translating legal texts is a relative affair. Take legal concepts for example. Legal concepts from different countries are seldom, if ever, identical, because, firstly, the nature of language dictates that two words are rarely identical between two languages and even within the same language (for instance, the English legal language in the US, UK and Australia)

38

jurisdiction over the controversy. The jurisdicie exclusiv asupra controversei. Curtea Court of Appeals affirmed. Held:1. It was error to dismiss the
82

de Apel a confirmat. Curtea dispune: 1. Respingerea plngerii pentru lips de

complaint for want of jurisdiction . competen a constituit o eroare. Prima parte din Section 3 First (i) of the Railway Labor Seciunea 3 lit. (i) din Legea Muncii Cilor Ferate Act confers upon the Adjustment Board confer competen exclusiv Consiliului de exclusive jurisdiction only over "disputes Solutionare a Contestaiilor numai n ceea ce between an employee or group of privete "litigii ntre un angajat sau un grup de employees and a carrier or carriers," angajai i un transportator sau transportatori," whereas this is a suit by employees83 ntruct aceasta este o aciune introdus de ctre against their bargaining agent to enforce angajai mpotriva agentului lor de negociere their statutory right not to be discriminated pentru aplicarea dreptului lor statutar de a nu fi against by it in bargaining84. discriminai de ctre acesta n procesul de negociere. 2. The Railroad was not an 2. Caile Ferate nu reprezentau o parte indispensable party to this suit, and failure indispensabil n aceast aciune, iar eroarea n a to join it was not a ground for dismissing nu aduga Cile Ferate n acest litigiu ca prt nu the suit85. reprezenta un motiv suficient pentru respingerea

82

A common feature of the syntax of legal language is the formal and impersonal written style (Salmi-Tolonen,

Tarja, 2004, Legal Linguistic Knowledge and Creating and Interpreting Law in Multilingual Environments, Brooklyn Journal of International Law, pp.1173).
83

In translating legal texts repetition is necessary to deal with the ambiguities that may arise in the legal

interpretation of the legal text.( Hanem E. El-Farahaty, 2008, volume 1, Legal Translation, Theory and Practice, Journal of Saudi Association of Languages and Translations, pp. 20)
84

Generally speaking, sentences in legal texts are longer than in other text types (Salmi-Tolonen 2004, pp. 1173),

and they may serve various purposes. In statutes, often long and complex sentences are necessary due to the complexity of the subject matters and the prospective nature of legislative law.
85

In most cases, it is always advisable that the legal translator sticks to the same range of words if the TL allows

him to do so. In Wai-Yees view, descriptive equivalence or paraphrase is preferred if a one-to-one translation could not reveal the legal meaning or distinguish the legal term from other similar terms (Poon, Emily Wai-Yee, 2002a, The Pitfalls of Linguistic Equivalence: The Challenge for Legal Translation, Target, pp.79). Sarcevic comments that this way is the most secure way for compensating for terminological incongruity (Sarcevic, Susan, 1997, New Approach to Legal Translation, The Hague, Kluwer Law International, pp.79)

39

aciunii. 3. The complaint adequately set forth a claim upon which relief could be granted. 3. Plngerea descrie n mod corespunztor condiiile legale ale preteniei pe temeiul creia ar putea fi acordat ndreptarea. (a) The fact that, under the Railway (a) Faptul c, n conformitate cu Legea Muncii Labor Act86, aggrieved employees can file Cilor Ferate, angajaii nedreptii pot s prezinte their own grievances with the Adjustment nemulumirile lor Consiliului de Soluionare a Board or sue the employer for breach of Contestaiilor sau s dea n judecat angajatorul contract is no justification for the union's pentru nclcarea contractului, nu reprezint un alleged discrimination in refusing to motiv pentru pretinsa represent petitioners. Sindicatului petiionari. . (b) Failure of the complaint to set forth (b) Neprezentarea de ctre reclamant a unor specific facts to support its general dovezi concrete care s sprijine susinerile sale allegations of discrimination was not a generale de discriminare nu a reprezentat un sufficient ground for dismissal of the suit, motiv suficient pentru respingerea aciunii, de since the Federal Rules of Civil vreme ce Regulamentul Federal de procedur Procedure87 do not require a claimant to civil nu solicita recurentului s stabileasc n discriminare din partea

prin refuzul de a-i reprezenta pe

86

Legal concepts are abstraction of the generic legal thoughts and rules within a legal system. Concepts are

important in law. Law is systematic and structured. Law is often described in categories, for instance, criminal law, property law, contract law, and torts. Legal concepts are the authoritative categories to which types or classes of transactions, cases, or situations are refereed, in consequences of which a series of principles, rules and standards become applicable (Weisflog Weisflog, W.E., 1987, Problems of Legal Translation, Swiss Reports presented at the XII th International Congress of Comparative Law, Zrich, Schulthess, pp. 207). Legal concepts play an important role in delimitating each branch of the law. For our purpose, as legal translation involves specialised or technical language, the technical nature of legal language originates in the extensive use of concepts (Weisflog 1987, op.cit., pp. 207).In this case many concepts concern labor law.
87

In translating legal concepts, similar words exist in the SL and TL, normally, such existing terms in the TL are

used in translation, even if they are not completely identical. These may be near or close equivalents, partial equivalents or non-equivalents (Sarcevic, op.cit., 1997). Nevertheless, they need to be used as equivalents. In such cases, they may be semantic equivalents, but are partial equivalents in the conceptual or referential dimensions. In Romania we have Codul de procedura civila but we cant use this concept even if its partial identical because Romania is not a Federation and doesnt have Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

40

set out in detail the facts upon which he detaliu faptele pe care i-a ntemeiat pretenia. bases his claim. The complaint then went on to allege n continuare, reclamanii au susinut c that the Union had failed in general to Sindicatul nu a reprezentat, n general, angajaii de represent Negro employees equally and in culoare n mod egal i cu bun-credin. A acuzat good faith. It charged that such faptul c o astfel de discriminare a constituit o discrimination constituted a violation of nclcare a dreptului petiionarilor aflai sub petitioners' right under the Railway Labor incidena Legii Muncii Cilor Ferate la o Act to fair representation from their reprezentare echitabil din partea agentului lor de bargaining agent. And it concluded by negociere. Au conchis prin a solicita un ordin asking for relief in the nature of judectoresc care s declare c drepturile le-au declaratory damages. judgment, injunction and fost nclcate, un ordin judecatoresc care s oblige prii s nceteze imediat violarea drepturilor prilor precum i daune. The respondents appeared and moved Intimaii, prin reprezentant legal, au solicitat

to dismiss the complaint on several respingerea plngerii din mai multe motive: (1) grounds: (1) the Board National had Railroad Consiliul National de Soluionare a Contestaiilor exclusive al Cilor Ferate a avut competean exclusiv

Adjustment

jurisdiction over the controversy; (2) the asupra controversei; (2), Cile Ferate din Texas i Texas and New Orleans Railroad, which New Orleans, care n-au fost alturate ca pri n had not been joined, was an indispensable proces, erau pri indispensabile n elucidarea party defendant; and (3) the complaint controversei; i (3)reclamatul nu a formulat n failed to state a claim upon which relief scris (n plngere) toate elementele legale precum could be given. i faptele pe care i ntemeiaz aciunea astfel nct plngerea s fie ntocmit n conformitate cu prevederile legale. The District Court granted the motion Instana de fond federal a ncuviinat cererea to dismiss holding that Congress had intimailor (de respingere a plngerii) hotrnd c given the Adjustment Board exclusive Legislativul a acordat competen exclusiv de a jurisdiction over the controversy. elucida controversa Consiliului Naional de Soluionare a Contestaiilor al Cilor Ferate.

41

The Court of Appeals for the Fifth

Curtea de Apel din cadrul celui de-al Cincilea

Circuit88, apparently relying on the same Circuit federal, aparent bazndu-se pe acelai ground, affirmed. As individuals or small groups, the motiv, a confirmat. Ca indivizi sau grupuri mici, angajaii nu pot

employees cannot begin to possess the dobndi puterea de negociere a reprezentantului bargaining power of their representative in lor n negocierea cu angajatorul sau n prezentarea negotiating with the employer or in plngerilor ctre el. presenting their grievances to him. Nor may89 a minority choose another i nici nu se poate ca o minoritate s aleag un agent to bargain in their behalf. We need alt agent de negociere n numele lor. Nu trebuie s not pass on the Union's claim that it was trecem peste afirmaia Sindicatului c nu era not obliged to handle any grievances at all, obligat s rezolve nici o plngere, pentru c este because we are clear that, once to evident c, odat angajat s negocieze sau s undertook to bargain or present grievances reprezinte nemulumirile pentru o parte din
88

Court hierarchies are often structured differently in different countries. The top court in the judicial hierarchy of

the United States is the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court consists of nine justices, appointed for life tenure, and hears only certain cases, including those involving interpretation of the Constitution. Below the Supreme Court in the hierarchy are the United States Court of Appeals: 11 numbered circuits, representing regions of the nation, and one circuit representing the District of Columbia. These courts hear federal cases that are appealed from federal district courts, of which there are 94 nationwide, and from United States Bankruptcy and Tax Courts. There is also a District Court for the Federal Circuit. This court hears appeals from the United States Court of International Trade, United States Court of Federal claims, and United States Court of Veterans Appeals. State court systems vary among states, but generally include trial courts are the first followed by courts of appeal (which may be referred to as "superior" or "intermediate" courts), and a state supreme court at the top of the hierarchy.Military courts are separate, with their own rules and procedures, although the ultimate authority on military issues is the United States Supreme Court. (http://www.localwin.com/julie/us-legal-system/) Romania has a civil law system, based on the French model, with various levels of court hierarchy: Local courts (Romanian: Judectorii) 40 county courts and the Bucharest Municipal Court (Romanian: Tribunale) 15 Courts of Appeal (Romanian: Curi de apel) the High Court of Cassation and Justice (Romanian: nalta Curte de Casaie i Justiie) the Constitutional Court (Romanian: Curtea Constituional)
89

A prominent linguistic feature in English legal documents is the frequent use of performative markers. For

instance, may is extensively employed.

42

for some of the employees it represented, angajaii pe care i-a reprezentat, el nu putea refuza it could not refuse to take similar action in s ia msuri similare cu bun-credin pentru ali good faith for other employees just angajai doar pentru c erau negri. because they were Negroes. The respondents also argue that the Intimaii susin, de asemenea, c plngerea nu generale ei este, de discriminare, urmare, i c complaint failed to set forth specific facts a reuit s descrie fapte specifice care s sprijine to support its general allegations of afirmaiile discrimination, and that its dismissal is respingerea prin corect.

therefore proper. The decisive answer to Rspunsul decisiv la acest lucru este faptul c this is that the Federal Rules of Civil Regulamentul Federal de procedur civil nu Procedure do not require a claimant to set solicit recurentului s stabileasc n detaliu out in detail the facts upon which he bases faptele pe care i ntemeiaz cererea.

his claim. To the contrary, all the Rules Dimpotriv, ceea ce Regulamentul pretinde este require is "a short and plain statement of o scurt i evident expunere a preteniei. the claim." The judgment is reversed, and the Hotrrea este inversat, iar cauza este la Curtea de Apel Federal

cause is remanded to the District Court for contramandat

further proceedings not inconsistent with Districtual pentru proceduri ulterioare care nu this opinion. It is so ordered90. sunt contrare acestei opinii. Astfel s-a hotrt.

90

The case Conley v. Gibson is found in the official format: 355 U.S. 41 (1957) - it is a collection of cases for the

US Supreme Court. It can be find online at http://supreme.justia.com/us/355/41/case.html

43

Conclusion

The importance of translating a text within the field of law, lies in the fact that the legal system mentioned in the source text is structured in a way that suits that particular culture and correspondingly the target text is to be read by someone who is accustomed with another legal system and its language. For these reasons, it is essential to understand the legal system of the source text and to display it exactly in the translation. The development of international trade has grown the demand for legal translation services. In this regard, the translation of the legal texts, the understanding of the local culture and the country's legal system combined with the knowledge of the common law and the civil law, used throughout the world, are necessary. Legal translation is frequently regarded as one of the most challenging activities that combines the inventiveness of literary translation with the terminological precision of technical translation. It is generally as a result of the specificity of the legal language and in particular, the differences between the common law and civil law systems, that the legal translation services appear as a difficult task to perform91. Legal language is a technical language but not a universal technical language because it is connected to a national legal system92, very different from the language used in pure science. Law as an abstract concept is universal but legal systems are specific to the societies in which they have been formulated according to different cultural, social and linguistic structures. Unlike pure science, law remains a national phenomenon.93 Lawyers, linguists, translators, and judges, whether native or non-native speakers of English, can all valuably contribute to conceptual and terminological development and harmonization of the legal language in the context of legal English as global legal lingua franca.94 The paper has discussed the theoretical background of legal translation and detected the approaches that have been used in translating such sensitive texts. It has also exposed the
91 92

http://www.insiderreports.com/storypage.asp?StoryID=20023767 Weisflog, W.E., 1987, Problems of Legal Translation, Swiss Reports presented at the XIIth International

Congress of Comparative Law, Zrich, Schulthess, pp. 203

93 94

Sarcevic, Susan, 1997, New Approach to Legal Translation, The Hague, Kluwer Law International. pp. 13 Goddard Christopher, 2009, Where legal cultures meet,pp 199

44

common problems that an English/Romanian translator may encounter when translating these texts. This has been accomplished through detecting the main sources of difficulty between both languages whether lexical, syntactic, textual or system-based. Caution, investigation and knowledge on part of the translator is required for lexical difficulties. The legal translator should understand the different types of vocabulary he/she is dealing with in the text, whether they are common, specialized, archaic, abstract, or functional. For being able to recognize the exact meaning of the common words in the legal context, the translator should consult specialists, and also analyze similar texts. In the case of specialized words, he/she may try to understand the lexical items conceptually rather than translating them literally. He should resort to specialist dictionaries. When translating archaic expressions, the translator should find an approximate corresponding expression in the TL or use paraphrasing. Abstract words are so sensitive and they can be interpreted in many ways in the legal context. However, the legal translator should translate them as they are and never try to clarify them even if his translation will result in a vague text. For functional words 95, the translators best way is to use paraphrase if there is no one-to-one correspondence between them. Other aspects that a legal translator should know how to operate with are: the complexity of the sentences, the use of the passive voice, the modals and the syntactic differences between English and Romanian 96. Legal translation is a task that requires a lot of expertise and familiarity with the linguistic conventions that apply to laws and legal cases. Legal translators confront with legal issues and terms. It doesnt consist only from taking a document in one language and switching it to another language while maintaining the same meaning. This

field involves translating statutes, contracts, patents and any type of legal documentation. Legal terminology is very complex and can vary from one country to another. Taking into consideration that not every country has the same legal system, in some cases legal concepts do not have an correspondent in the target language. Codes and laws have been created to
95

Functional words are words that have little lexical meaning or have ambiguous meaning, but instead serve to

express grammatical relationships with other words within a sentence, or specify the attitude or mood of the speaker (http://thesaurus.com/browse/disambiguate)
96

Hanem E. El-Farahaty, 2008, volume 1, Legal Translation, Theory and Practice, Journal of Saudi Association

of Languages and Translations, pp. 26

45

conform to a particular country or culture and when the legal term does not have an equivalent in the target language, the translator needs to recreate the concept and the whole idea attached to the legal expression. Transcreation is a re-interpretation of the original concept. The task of finding equivalence between two terms if both legal languages refer to the different legal systems is difficult. There are cases where some legal terms might have similar meanings in two systems but are not identical; they have different connotations which lead to different sentences. On the grounds that, the potential consequences of a legal misjudgment could affect the life and rights of individuals as well as national security and diplomatic relations, the translation of documents, any type of documents, must be 100% accurate. Nevertheless, this is especially the case with legal documents. Errors in legal translation could be fatal. When legal documents are translated by non specialized translators, mistakes can be made, especially translations. In order to be able to make accurate translations, legal translators need to understand the different law systems as well as specific areas within law such as Criminal Law, Commercial Law, Property Law etc. They also need to be competent in legal writing and to have an exhaustive knowledge of legal terminology and a deep understanding of comparative law system which helps the understanding of the basic legal terms and structures in an international context. The importance of choosing a specialist in the legal translation field is that it assures a better quality for the comprehension of the legal documents. Also, the meaning of the original document will not be changed in any way as a result of such translation97. when the translator has no or just little experience in legal

97

http://www.scribd.com/doc/36311720/Importance-of-Legal-Translations

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